Apparatus for cell culture and for immunological testing is commercially available and in wide spread use. One familiar such apparatus is known as a microplate typically comprising a substrate or base plate to which is connected an array of upstanding wells.
It has long been appreciated that an increase in the surface area of the exposed portion of the surface of the substrate at the bottom of each well would be beneficial in increasing the speed at which cell growth occurs in the well. Obtaining such an increase in surface area becomes an increasingly challenging problem as the number of wells per unit area of the base plate increases.
It also has long been appreciated that the surface of the base plate or substrate is important for cell attachment and coatings to this end also are available commercially.
It also has been long appreciated that the optical properties of the materials used in such apparatus are important because the results of tests from such apparatus are determined optically either by reflected light or by light transmitted through the base plate.
The speed at which cell cultures grow and morphology of cultured cells are important in the laboratory, in the clinic and in biotechnology and medical industries. Unfortunately, materials, coatings, well configurations and base plate surface textures often are incompatible and invariably lead to a diminution of optical properties as well as other adverse effects.